RESTLESS LEGS

Reading: Psalm 31:1-7

I suffer from an excruciating condition known as restless legs syndrome. My sister, who also suffers from it calls it crazy legs. I have some other names for it, but as a pastor I should not even think such thoughts let alone speak them.

Doctors still don't know a lot about the condition, just the chemicals that manage the symptoms. When restless legs hit it's like a thousand electric snakes wiggling around underneath my skin. There is pain, but pain that grows from discomfort - extreme comfort - comfort to the ninth power. At its greatest intensity, you simply cannot sit still - in fact, you cannot sit. Every iota of your attention is drawn towards the offending appendage and there are times you seriously think about amputation. So intense is my condition, that I find it difficult to carry on an conversation because the discomfort takes my breath away. A man of many words, I can easily be reduced to speechlessness.

There is a medication called Mirapex that helps manage the symptoms. I thank God for it daily. It has a half life of 12 hours, which medically means that it does its work for 12 hours and then you need another dose. Actually, it starts wearing off somewhere between 9 and 12 hours. If you simply take it every 12 hours, the condition asserts itself and you are once again in agony. It seems to wear off quickly. Within 15 minutes of feeling any initial discomfort, the situation returns and for the next 45 or so minutes I suffer some of its work effects until the new dose works its way into my system. I really have to guess a bit and take it somewhere before the 12 hours are up unless I am too busy and forget. Some of my anguish can be avoided if I watch the time and take the medicine on time,

There is an anguish that makes restless legs seem merely a nuisance. There is a pain that is so acute that you are easily overwhelmed and desperate. It is the pain of sin in our lives and in our world, and what sin comes close to home, invading our lives; it is easy to be overwhelmed and then desperate.

David knew what it was to be overcome with that pain. He knew what it was to desperate for God's care. He prayed for the Lord's quick rescue. He knew what it was to be afflicted by sin and in anguish in the soul. He also knew that such anguish should drive him closer to God.

We need to feel the pain of the world or we lose our sense of urgency about dealing with sin. But when that pain is beginning to consume our lives, we need to stop and call upon the Lord. We need to let go of our part in that sin and cling to the righteousness of our RESCUER.